Door handle and latch



Dec. 12, 1944.

KOEHLER DOOR HANDLE AND LATCH Filed Sept. 25, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l WHEN jh verdor'. RLJWML W Dec. 12, 1944. KOEHLER 2,364,795

DOOR HANDLE AND LATCH Patented Dec. 12, 1944 UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

DOOR HANDLE AND LATCH Richard Koehler, Manchester, N. H.

Application September 25, 1942, Serial No. 459,651

15 Claims.

Thisinvention relates to improvements in door handles. More particularly it relates to a door handle having grip portions projecting respectively at opposite sides of a door, and a finger guide portion connecting the grip portions across that edge of the door adjacent to which the handle is mounted. The handle may be grasped on whichever side of the door it stands more readily accessible and the fingers can slide along the finger guide to the opposite side of the door as the door swings open or shut, keeping the door continually under restraining control throughout its swinging travel.

Heretofore, so far as I am aware, door' handles plunger and with the inner curved grip portion constituting a cam surface by which the handle and plunger are forced inward as the door closes, by coaction of the cam with the door jamb or casing, or a plate thereon.

A further object is to combine my improved handle-with a door latch by having one element of the latch on the handle and a cooperating latch element on the door jamb or casing.

Still another object of the invention is to generally improve the structure and utility of door handles.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view through a cabinet door and frame structure havin my improved handle embodied therein,-portions of the door and frame being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the showing of Fig. 1;

of the door makes it practically impossible ,to'

maintain a grip on the handle unless a person moves with the door in the direction of its swinging. The usual procedure is to release the handle or knob after a door is set in motion and to grab for any accessible part of the door to arrest its motion before it strikes an adjacent wall Fig. 3 is an elevation of a fragment of the edge of the door on-which the handle is mounted and showing the handle in elevation thereon;

Fig. .4 is a vertical section through the handle showing the plunger and its spring in elevation; Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view through the door and frame structure, being an operational showing. in which the door and its handle vides a, grip portion at each side and a fingerguide portion which extends across the edge of the door from one to the other of the grips and provides space between it and the door for passage of the fingers along the guide from one side to.the other of the door as the latter swings open or swings shut. Such a handle constitutes a further object of the invention.

Another object is to provide for automatic shifting of the handle relative to the door as the door moves out of its closed positionthereby to provide space between the door and the guide to accommodate the fingers sliding along the guide. According to the invention the handle is carried at one end of a spring-pressed plunger mounted on the door and biased toward the door jamb or casing. The handle may be a strip of metal of generally invertedC-shape, set edgewise on and above the plunger, with the grip portions of the handle on opposite sides of the are illustrated in. three different positions and showing how the fingers are permitted to slide along the handle from one side ofthe door to the other while keeping the door continuously under finger-tip control; and i Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the latch keeper. Referring to the drawings, the cabinet door l0 andits frame l2 as illustrated should be considered representative of doors in general as the invention is applicable to many types and styles of doors. The particular door selected for illus 1 trative purposes is of a common variety used for kitchen cabinets and the like where it may be desirable to have a flange I4 extending all around the door for seating against the margin of the door frame or casing l2. The door is hinged as at It to the casing at one edge and any suitable latch device may be provided at the opposite edge. In the illustrated embodimentof the invention, a latch preferably is combined with my improved handle as will appear as the description proceeds, although the latch may be separate and of any suitable variety without departing from the broader idea of the invention which is primarily concerned with the handle and its'utiL ity for maintaining a door continuously under control during its swinging movements. 1 According to the invention the handle I8 i formed of a strip of suitably strong and stiii material as metal or wood or a molded composition. It has a substantially straight central portion 20 flanked on each side by the generally arcuate portions 22, 24 which constitute the grip portions tube 30 has a depending lug 34 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) at its outer end abutting the vertical end face of the door and held in place by a screw 36 passed through the counter-sunk opening 38 in the lug and threaded into the door. The spring 28 continually urges the plunger outward, and outstanding pins 42 on the plunger project into longitudinal slots 42 in opposite side walls of the tube 30 to limit the travel of the plunger and to maintain it against rotation.

, In the case of a flanged door as illustrated, a notch 44 in the flange accommodates the strip handle l8 asit moves between its door-closed position of Figs. 1 and 5 and its door-open position illustrated in the broken line showings of Fig. 5. The notch 44, however, may be obscured by a finger piece 46 conveniently mounted on the outer grip portion 24 of the handle and of size and material to cover the notch' 44 when the door is closed. .The grip portion itself substantially hides 46 maybe 'of decorative aspect and may be secured to the handle by a single screw 48. A lug 50 on the piece 46, spaced from screw 48, closely fits an opening 52 in the handle to maintain the finger piece against turning. about the screw 48. The opening 52 and a hole for the screw 48 may be formed also in the corresponding position in the other side of the handle as shownin Fig. 3,- so that the same handle may be used for both closed, keeping the door continuously under restraining control.

As the door approaches a closed position, the portion 22 of the handle which projects at the inner side of the door strikes the inclined projection 611 of the keeper plate 56 and the handle portion 22 acts as a cam coacting with the plate part 60 to urge the handle inward toward the edge face of the door so that the latch projection 54 on the handle can snap into the keeper plate opening 58, to maintain the door latched closed as in Fig. 1. Also, as the door is being opened,

this cam part 22 of the handle tends to cam the door open after the latch is released and opening i9. While this would reduce the depth or" finger space above the plunger, it would have the advantage of locating the point of contact of the handle with the projection 60 of the keeper plate in line with the plunger 26, in some instances,

1 for smoother action of the handle and latch.

the notch when the door is open. The finger piece I claim: 1. A door handle comprising two spaced apart hand-grip elements, a finger guide element connecting said hand-grip elements and free from obstruction to sliding movement of a finger from (me hand-grip elei nent to the other when a door left and right opening doors, merely by shifting 1 the position of the finger piece.

Conveniently a latch may be combined with my improved handle although any desired type of latch may be employed, separate from the handle. formed on the mid portion of the handle strip F8 for coacting with a keeper plate 56 on the door frame in which plate an opening 58 is provided for receiving the projection 54., The keeper plate preferably has an outwardly projecting inclined part 6!! for coacting with the inner grip portion 22 of the handle for camming the handle to its innermost position when the door is closing.

In operation, the opening of'a door involves As shown, a latch projection 54 is of the door'being spaced therefrom permitting on which the handle may be mounted is ajar, and means for mounting said elements on a door with the finger guide element disposed crosswise and outward of an edge of the door and the handgrip elements projecting at opposite sides of the door.

2. A door handle comprising an element of generally inverted C-shape andmeans for mounting said element crosswise ofan edge of a door with the hook ends of the inverted C-shaped element projecting at opposite sides of the door and the portion of said element opposite said edge unhampered sliding movement of a finger along the said element from one side to the other of the door when the door is ajar.

3. A door handle comprising a strip of flat and stifi material having hand-grip elements at its merely the gripping of the handle portion 24 as the fingers will have slid along the handle from,

one side of the door to the other where they comfortably can restrain and control further swinging movement of the door, thus preventing any slamming of it against an adjacent wall. Similarly in closing the door, the'hand conveniently and comfortably can grasp" the inner grip 22 of the handle, and the fingers can 'slidealong the handle to the outer grip 24 as the door'swings opposite ends, and means for mounting said strip crosswise of an edge of a door with a flat side of the strip toward and spaced from the edge of the door and with said hand-grip elements projecting at opposite sides of the door, the spacing of said flat side of the strip from the edge of the door being sufiicient for unhampered sliding of a finger along said strip from one to another of the hand-grip elements when the door is ajar.

4. A door handle comprising a strip of fiat and stiff material formed into generallydnvertednshape, and means formounting said strip on a door with a hook end of the inverted C-shaped strip on each sideof the door and a mid part of said strip extending crosswise of an edge of the door and spaced therefrom a distance permitting the strip to serve as a guide for fingers sliding along the handle from one side of the door to the other, said handle being free from obstruction and a finger guide extending between the handgrip elements; a rod having one end secured to the finger guiding portion of thehandle; a tube in which the other end of the rod is inserted;

means biasing the rod in direction outward of the tube; and means limiting the travel of the rod; said tube being insertible inahole in an edge of a door and having means for securing the handle member crosswise of that edge, with a hand-grip element on each side of the door and the finger guide biased outward from the edge of the door to provide finger space between it and the door when the door is open.

6. A door handle comprising a mounting tube for insertion in an edge of a door; means for securing the tube in the door; a rod slidable in the portion of the handle, when the handle is free of said latch element on the door casing, being spaced from the edgeofthe door sufiiciently for free sliding of a finger along the guiding portion from one hand-grip portion to the other and being free from obstruction to suchfree sliding of a finger.

tube and spring pressed in direction out of the for insertion in an edge of a door; means for securing the tube in the door; a rod slidable in the tube and spring pressed in direction out of the tube; means limiting movement of the rod relative to the tube; a strip of fiat and stiff material of generally inverted C-shape mounted on the outer end of said rod with a hook end-of the inverted C-shaped element at each side'of the rod and curving toward the rod; u

8. In a door handle, the combination of a handle member arranged to be mounted crosswise of an edge of a door, said handle member having a hand-grip portion at each side of the door and a finger guiding portion extending from one handgrip portion to the otheracross and outside of the edge of the door and being free from obstruction to the free movement of a finger along the guide from one side to the other of the door.

9. In a door handle, the combination of a handle member arranged to be mounted crosswise of an edge of a door, said handle member having a hand-grip portion at each side of the door and a finger guiding portion extending from one handgrip portion to the other across and outside of the edge of the door; latching means on the finger guiding portion for coaction with a latch keeper and means for mounting the handle mem ber yieldingly on the door for movement of the finger guiding portion thereof toward and away from the edge of the door to release and engage said latching means with said latch keeper, said handle being free from obstruction to the free movement of a finger along said finger guiding portion from one hand-grip portion to the other when the door is ajar.

10. In a-door' handle, the combination of a handle member arranged to be mounted crosswise of an edge of a door, said handle member having a hand-grip portion at eachside of the door and a finger guiding portion extending from one hand-grip portion to the other across and outside of the edge of the door; means for mounting the handle yieldinglyon the door for movement of its finger-guiding portion toward and from the edge of the door; a latch element arranged to be mounted on the door casing adjacent to the handle; and a cooperating latch element on the handle, the said finger guiding 11.'A door handle having a grip part that crosses the edge face, of the door, and means supporting the grip part for movement bodily away from the edge face when-the grip is engaged by the hand and thedoor is-ajar thereby to provide space between thehandle and the edge face of the door for unhampered passage of a finger along the handle from one side to the other of the door.

12. In a door handle, the combination of a hand grip that crosses the edge face of the door and has grip parts on both sides thereof, means supporting the grip for movement away from the edge face when the grip is engaged bythe hand and the door is -ajar thereby to provide space between the handle and the edge face of the door for unhampered passage of a finger along the handle from one side to the other of the door, a latch member comprising a partof said handle and movable by said grip, and a cooperating latch member arranged to be mounted on the door casing.

13. In a door handle, the combination of a hand grip that crosses the edge face of the door and has grip parts on both sides thereof, means urging said grip for movement bodily away from the edge face to provide finger space between them, a latch member comprising a part of said handle movable by said grip, and a cooperating latchmember arranged to be mounted on the door casing, said handle being free from obstruction to free sliding of a finger therealong from one grip part to the other when the door isajar.

14. A door handle and latch comprising a member adaptedto cross the edge face of "the door and having grip parts adapted for disposi-.

tion on opposite sides of the door, means mounting said mounting member onthe door for permitting movement of said mounting member and Y hand grip both toward and away from the edge face of the door, and a latch member comprising a part of said mounting member and hand grip and movable therewith arranged for releasable latching engagement with a part of the door casing, said portion of the handle crossing said edge face of the door being spaced from said edge,

face, when the door is ajar, providing for free passage of a finger along the handle from; one grip part to another thereof.

15. A door handle comprising a mounting tube for insertion in an edge of a door; means forsecuring thetube in the door; a rod slidable in the". f

tube and spring pressedin direction outjof the tube; means limiting movement of the rod relative to the tube; a handle element mounted on the outer. end of the said rod and having handgrip portions at opposite sidesof the rod and a finger guiding portion connecting the hand-grip portions, the hand-grip portion at the inner side of the door constituting also a cam coacting with a portion of the door casing for urging the handle toward the edge face ofthe door.

."RICHARD KOEHIER. 

